Australia issues new gender-free ‘X’ passport

The Australian Passport Office this month rolled out a new passport option for transgender travelers in transition or  those who don’t identify with either gender: the “X” passport. The passport adds X, or indeterminate, to “male” or “female” choices. Now Britain also may be mulling the idea of gender-free passports, the Associated Press reports.

The Australian Passport Office’s website says the move aims to “remove discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or sex and gender identity.”

But the Canberra Times credits the change to an appeal won by a transgender woman who was denied a passport as a female because her birth certificate said she was male. Previously the office required proof of a sex-change operation to change passport gender. Now only a letter from a doctor that documents treatment for gender change is required.

The U.S. State Department last year also eased its rules on passports for transgender travelers, dropping a requirement that transgender people have proof of surgery to obtain a passport in their desired gender. Now only a doctor’s letter is required that “validates whether your gender transition is in process or complete.” 

Article source: http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-trb-australia-passport-gender-20110929,1,1608550.story

Southern California: $150 day spa package at Terranea

Terranea, never heard of it? Some Angelenos haven’t, but here’s a deal at the Palos Verdes Peninsula hotel and spa complex that could change all that. Terranea is offering a $150 day spa package that comes with a facial or massage plus a mini service.

The deal: The Fabulous Fall Spa Sampler Package includes a 50-minute Relaxing Classical Massage or Skin Specific Facial (descriptions of each are on the treatment menu) plus one “mini service” (polish refresh for hands or feet, brow shaping or scalp massage) and a free smoothie. Tax and service charges are extra.

The other big draw of this deal is having access to the spa, which made Conde Nast’s 2010 Hot List. There’s a pool, cold plunge, steam and sauna, and a fitness center — along with comfy areas to just sit and contemplate the ocean.

When: The package is available Mondays through Thursdays until Oct. 31.

Tested: I checked online to get a sense of the savings. The same massage or facial for 60 minutes runs $185 to $190, and day-use of the spa costs $40. Right there you’ve saved a bunch before you even sip the free smoothie.

Be careful in case you fall for this hotel: The overnight spa package for two (which adds an ocean-front room, more treatments and a bento box lunch) starts at $610 a night plus tax. For my money, I’d start with the day spa — and work my way up.

Info: Terranea, (310) 265-2740

 

Article source: http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-trb-terranea-spa-20110928,1,6484679.story

take KARE of your MONEY: Finding fall travel deals

Written by

Allen Costantini

Searching for fairer fares

MINNEAPOLIS – It is fast approaching the season of Minnesotans’ discontent: the cold end of Autumn and the doldrums of winter. It is the time Gopher state folks look to vacations in sunnier climes, but is now the time to get stung by the travel bug? A Minnesota travel guru said “yes.”

“Yes, it is!” said Terry Trippler, owner of theplanerules.com website. Trippler said the end of September and October are the sale times for air fares. “And most of the sales are going between now and December 15th with blackout periods over Thanksgiving. This is a very good time to travel.”

 
Trippler took note of the dropping oil prices, but said that he does not expect that to be passed on in terms of lower air fares. Instead of cuts to their regular fares, Trippler said fliers should expect to see more “sales.”

“What the airlines can do, rather than lower fares, they can simply take their lowest tier of fares and make more of them available. So, more people can take advantage of it. Then, they do not go through the process of lowering air fares,” said Trippler.

Conversely, Trippler said the airlines can, in effect, raise revenue without raising fares, by cutting the number of lower cost tiers of fares, thereby reducing the number of cheaper seats on flights.
Also, Trippler does not think it is a good time to purchase flights that depart after the first of the year. “The reason I would not is that we may have more sales coming, oil has continued to drop,” said Trippler.

The oft-quoted travel expert is no fan of using frequent flier miles for tickets. “I get so many complaints from people trying to use them…Try to use them if you can. If nothing else, try to use them to upgrade (to first class or business class). That is what a lot of people are now doing,” said Trippler.

 
His last bit of advice is to visit the websites of airlines and register for their emails. Trippler said the airlines will then email their potential customers with news of perceived bargains.

(Copyright 2011 by KARE 11. All Rights Reserved.)

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Article source: http://www.kare11.com/news/article/940346/396/take-KARE-of-your-MONEY-Finding-fall-travel-deals

Airlines should get gov’t loans, committee says (AP)

WASHINGTON – The government should help airlines install billions of dollars’ worth of equipment in their planes necessary to use a new air traffic control system through loans or loan guarantees, an industry-government advisory committee recommended Thursday.

Repayment of the loans, which could involve public-private partnerships, would be triggered by the Federal Aviation Administration achieving promised benefits from the new system, the committee said.

The financing recommendation was one of a half dozen related to FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation System — also called NextGen — that were approved at a meeting of the committee.

The FAA is replacing World War II-era radar technology with a control system based on GPS technology, a process that is expected to take more than a decade to complete. The agency says planes will be able to safely fly closer together, reducing flying time, saving fuel and achieving better on-time performance. The program is forecast to be as revolutionary for civil aviation as was the advent of radar six decades ago. It is also critical to FAA’s plans to accommodate growth in airline traffic, which is expected to rise from over 700 million passengers a year to more than 1 billion a year in the next 10 years.

Although they have the most to gain, airlines are wary of FAA’s track record of changing directions after investments have been made. They point to cases where airlines have purchased new equipment at FAA’s urging and wound up never using it.

FAA Deputy Administrator Michael Huerta, the FAA’s top representative on the committee, cautioned that the agency needs industry to be much more specific about which benefits must be produced and how they would be measured before the government could act on the financing recommendation.

“We’re at the point right now where we have a very excellent teeing up of the issue,” Huerta told the committee. But specifics are needed, he said, before FAA can decide “how do we rearrange our work programs to deliver these things.”

Airlines and other aircraft operators may have different expectations of benefits, Huerta said. And benefits may vary by location, he said. For example, it may be more difficult to achieve NextGen benefits in the New York area, where a variety of factors make air traffic control extraordinarily complex, than in Atlanta, even though Hartsfield International Airport there is one of the world’s busiest airports.

Paying the tab for NextGen — estimated at as much as $22 billion for the government and another $20 billion for the airline industry through 2025 — is one of the program’s biggest hurdles.

The equipment and other expenses necessary to use the system are being put in place in layers. FAA hopes to complete the installation of most of its hardware on the ground by 2013.

About 40 percent of airliners and 30 percent of private planes already have the onboard equipment necessary to take off and land using more precise, fuel-saving procedures, said committee member Ed Bolen, president of the National Business Aviation Association. But none have the equipment necessary for a plane to continually broadcast to controllers and other aircraft its precise location because manufacturers aren’t making the equipment yet, he said.

Those two layers of NextGen equipment would cost aircraft operators about $6 billion if installed on all planes, said Bolen, who chaired a subcommittee on the “business case” for NextGen. Other layers of technology — including equipment for planes to receive continuous information on the location of aircraft and to get text messages from air traffic controllers — are also in the works, but will come later.

Article source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/aptrne/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20110930/ap_tr_ge/us_travel_brief_airlines_air_traffic_system

United CEO says Boeing 787 a ‘game-changer’ (AP)

HONOLULU – As Japan welcomes the first Boeing 787, the soon-to-be world’s largest carrier is patiently and anxiously waiting for its order.

Jeff Smisek, head of the parent company for United and Continental airlines, on Thursday said he was last told by Boeing that the first of the 50 aircraft ordered by the company will be delivered to have in service in the second half of 2012.

“We ordered that aircraft in December 2004. So I’ve been a very patient person,” said Smisek, the president and CEO of United Continental Holdings Inc.

The first Boeing 787 Dreamliner took off from Everett, Wash., on Tuesday morning and landed Wednesday in Tokyo, where All Nippon Airways is preparing the long-delayed aircraft for its inaugural commercial flight.

Chicago-based Boeing missed the initial May 2008 delivery target and had repeatedly delayed its introduction because of problems in development.

Despite the delays, Smisek called the wide-body jetliner “a spectacular and game-changing aircraft.”

The new jet is the first commercial airliner built using carbon fiber — a strong, lightweight, high-tech plastic — rather than the typical aluminum skin. It is quieter and uses about 20 percent less fuel than a comparably sized aluminum aircraft.

“That’s staggering,” Smisek said about the fuel savings. “If you substitute them for an existing aircraft, your profits will improve like that. It will also permit us to fly routes we couldn’t otherwise profitably fly. So it’s really a homerun.”

The 787s have an extended range and its cabin have bigger windows and larger overhead compartments. For improved passenger comfort, the humidity can be controlled and the air pressure during flights will be equivalent to an altitude of 6,000 feet instead of the conventional 8,000 feet.

“Customers will love flying in them,” he said. “So it’s good for us and great for the customer.”

United Continental will be the first North American carrier to receive the 787s. The only route the company has announced for the 787 is non-stop service between Houston and Auckland, New Zealand — a route that the carrier had hoped to begin in November.

Smisek said 787s will mostly replace existing aircraft instead of adding capacity because, “I don’t see us growing our mainline fleet in any significant way under these current conditions.”

Airlines have ordered more than 800 of the planes that will compete with the Airbus A350. United Continental has ordered 25 of the Airbus aircraft.

Smisek is in Honolulu this week meeting with company employees. He spoke with reporters after delivering a keynote speech at the 2011 Hawaii Business Magazine Top 250 luncheon, recognizing the state’s leading companies.

The company, which brings in about 4 million visitors to Hawaii every year, continues to merge United and Continental airlines into what will be the world’s largest carrier. He said the company has reduced its net debt by $1.4 billion.

“I think we’re at the cusp of having an airline business in the United States that actually makes money (and) makes it consistently, sustainably, sufficiently.”

Article source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/aptrne/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20110930/ap_tr_ge/us_united_continental_boeing787

1 charge to be dropped in fatal Va bus crash (AP)

BOWLING GREEN, Va. – A prosecutor said Friday that a reckless driving charge will be dropped against a driver for a discount bus service whose bus crashed on Interstate 95 in Virginia, killing four people and injuring others.

Caroline County Commonwealth’s Attorney Tony Spencer told The Associated Press ahead of a scheduled court hearing that his office will not prosecute the misdemeanor charge against Kin Yiu Cheung, 37, of New York. Cheung is scheduled for trial in January on four felony counts of involuntary manslaughter. He faces up to 10 years in prison for each count if convicted.

Court records show Cheung admitted to police that he fell asleep at the wheel when the low-fare Sky Express bus from Greensboro, N.C., to New York City swerved off Interstate 95 about 30 miles north of Richmond, hit an embankment and overturned with 60 people aboard May 31.

His attorneys have called the crash a “terrible accident and a tragedy.”

Virginia State Police said those killed in the crash were Karen Blyden-Decastro, 46, of Cambria Heights, N.Y.; Sie Giok Giang, 63, of Philadelphia; Josefa Torres, 78, of Jamaica, N.Y.; and Denny Estefany Martinez, 25, of Jersey City, N.J.

Transportation Department officials were in the process of shutting down the company at the time of the crash, but had given the Charlotte, N.C., company an extra 10 days to appeal an unsatisfactory safety rating.

A timeline released by the department indicated that without the extension, Sky Express would have ceased operations the weekend before the crash. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has directed the department to stop extending appeals periods for operators found to be unsafe.

Following the crash, federal officials shut down the bus line and then issued a cease-and-desist order against the company after finding it was trying to sell tickets under other names.

Sky Express is part of an industry of inexpensive buses that travel the East Coast offering cheap fares, convenient routes and, in some cases, free wireless Internet. The industry is in the fifth year of a boom, but a string of deadly accidents has prompted calls for tougher federal regulation.

According to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records, Sky Express buses had been involved in four crashes with an injury or fatality — it didn’t specify which — during the two-year period that ended May 20. The company also had been cited for 46 violations of drivers being fatigued over that same period, ranking it worse than 86 percent of commercial motor carriers.

Article source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/aptrne/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20110930/ap_tr_ge/us_travel_brief_bus_accident_virginia

Judge blocks slowdown by US Airways pilots (AP)

A federal judge ordered the union for US Airways pilots to stop intentionally delaying flights, finding that it had engaged in a “concerted effort to disrupt the airline.”

US Airways saw its June on-time ranking drop to last place among big airlines as it struggled with delayed flights and a computer outage. In July the airline went to court, saying pilots were deliberately delaying flights.

The airline is the product of a 2005 merger between the old US Airways and America West. Pilots from those two airlines still fly under separate union contracts, and the airline said the slowdowns were concentrated among the so-called “East” pilots who came from the old U.S. Airways.

Labor law bars aircrews from staging sick-outs, slowdowns, or other otherwise disrupting an airline. The US Airline Pilots Association had strongly denied any intentional slowdown. And, in an Aug. 17 email to pilots, USAPA President Michael Cleary told pilots, “To be crystal clear, you must not intentionally cause any delay where the purpose is to alter the status quo.”

But U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. in Charlotte, N.C., found Wednesday that the union was “engaged in an illegal slowdown.” Stickers left on airplanes appeared to encourage them to make sure flights were at least 16 minutes late. Pilots were accused of taxiing slowly. The airline said the rate of fatigue calls from East pilots more than doubled after May 1.

Conrad also found that pilots intentionally delayed completing online training by a May 31 deadline. The airline often schedules pilots for four-day trips, and they can’t start the trip if their training expires before a trip ends. Three days before the deadline, 897 pilots had not finished the training — all but one of them East pilots, according to the airline. The Federal Aviation Administration ended up granting a waiver allowing the airline to schedule the pilots who had not finished the training.

The airline declined to comment other than to say the ruling speaks for itself. In a newsletter emailed to employees after the ruling, US Airways thanked workers “for the amazing job you did to ensure our customers were taken care of while this illegal activity was taking place. We’re happy to have it behind us.”

A union spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Shares of US Airways Group Inc., based in Tempe, Ariz., rose a penny to close Wednesday at $6.12.

Article source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/aptrne/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20110929/ap_tr_ge/us_travel_brief_us_airways_pilots

Travel deal! Celebrate fall, Halloween at Disneyland – ABC15.com (KNXV

PHOENIX – If you feel like changing up your Halloween routine this year, check out this Disneyland deal in California.

Every Thursday, ABC15.com will feature travel deals for Arizonans.

This week’s deal from AAA Arizona is a great way to plan a fall vacation with your family:

DISNEY FALL DEAL IN CALIFORNIA

The summer crowds have skedaddled, making fall the perfect time to plan a visit to Disneyland® Parks.

Enjoy the new attractions, parades, and special events like Halloween Time at the Disneyland® Resort through Oct. 31, when it’s more magical and affordable than ever.

Book now and save up to 30 percent* at a Disneyland® Resort Hotel, including:

• Disney’s Paradise Pier® Hotel
• Disneyland® Hotel
• Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel® Spa

Turn your Disney hotel stay into an unforgettable vacation!

Upgrade to a 2-night or longer AAA Vacations® package including Theme Park tickets and a variety of magical extras that will make your vacation even more memorable!

For more information or to book, call 1-877-731-3938 or visit AAAAZ.com/travel .

*30% savings based on the non-discounted price for the same room at Disney’s Paradise Pier® Hotel. Offer valid for arrivals most nights from October 2, 2011 through December 24th, 2011 when booked between September 13, 2011 and October 15, 2011, and for arrivals most nights from November 1, 2011 to December 24, 2011 when booked between October 16, 2011 to December 10, 2011. Travel must be completed by December 25, 2011. Other restrictions apply. Applies only to standard and concierge level rooms and not valid with previously booked rooms. Other room rates and hotel rates will vary. Excludes taxes and fees. Blackout dates of 11/23/11 through 11/25/11. Advance reservations required. Subject to availability as the number of rooms allocated for this offer is restricted. Limit two (2) rooms per reservation and five (5) people maximum per room. Not valid in combination with any other hotel discounts or offers. Subject to change without notice.

Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Article source: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/lifestyle/travel/travel-deal!-celebrate-fall,-halloween-at-disneyland

Take Kare of Your Money: Finding fall travel deals

Written by

Allen Costantini

Searching for fairer fares

MINNEAPOLIS – It is fast approaching the season of Minnesotans’ discontent: the cold end of Autumn and the doldrums of winter. It is the time Gopher state folks look to vacations in sunnier climes, but is now the time to get stung by the travel bug? A Minnesota travel guru said “yes.”

“Yes, it is!” said Terry Trippler, owner of theplanerules.com website. Trippler said the end of September and October are the sale times for air fares. “And most of the sales are going between now and December 15th with blackout periods over Thanksgiving. This is a very good time to travel.”

 
Trippler took note of the dropping oil prices, but said that he does not expect that to be passed on in terms of lower air fares. Instead of cuts to their regular fares, Trippler said fliers should expect to see more “sales.”

“What the airlines can do, rather than lower fares, they can simply take their lowest tier of fares and make more of them available. So, more people can take advantage of it. Then, they do not go through the process of lowering air fares,” said Trippler.

Conversely, Trippler said the airlines can, in effect, raise revenue without raising fares, by cutting the number of lower cost tiers of fares, thereby reducing the number of cheaper seats on flights.
Also, Trippler does not think it is a good time to purchase flights that depart after the first of the year. “The reason I would not is that we may have more sales coming, oil has continued to drop,” said Trippler.

The oft-quoted travel expert is no fan of using frequent flier miles for tickets. “I get so many complaints from people trying to use them…Try to use them if you can. If nothing else, try to use them to upgrade (to first class or business class). That is what a lot of people are now doing,” said Trippler.

 
His last bit of advice is to visit the websites of airlines and register for their emails. Trippler said the airlines will then email their potential customers with news of perceived bargains.

(Copyright 2011 by KARE 11. All Rights Reserved.)

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Article source: http://www.kare11.com/news/article/940346/26/Take-Kare-of-Your-Money-Finding-fall-travel-deals

New 75 mph limit puts Maine in the fast lane (AP)

AUGUSTA, Maine – If you drive along Interstate 95 in the nation’s far northeastern corner, “it’s trees, trees, trees” for mile after mile, says one motorist. So why not set the cruise control on 75 mph?

That’s what a lot of drivers have been doing for years, but now it’s legal on one lonesome stretch, making Maine the only state east of the Mississippi River where drivers aren’t breaking the law by driving 75 mph.

The new law authorizing the higher limit went on the books Wednesday, though it actually takes effect when new signs replace the old 65 mph ones next Tuesday.

The trees, bogs, potato fields and mountain vistas all might look a little blurrier at 75 mph, but drivers also will burn more fuel and risk more destructive accidents. Residents had asked for the change, saying no one obeyed the limit anyway, and their widespread disregard for the current limit hastened the bill’s passage.

“Up here, we’re isolated,” said Rick Castonguay, a real estate broker in Presque Isle. “Going down that stretch of the interstate, it’s pretty straight. It’s trees, trees, trees. You can literally sit on that road, set your cruise control and watch the trees go by.”

The new 75 mph zone covers an approximately 110-mile stretch of road between Old Town, which is a few miles north of Bangor, and Houlton.

The higher limit sets Maine apart from other eastern states, none of which lets drivers go that fast. About a dozen western states have 75 mph limits along rural interstates, and Texas even allows 85 mph on some segments, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The change came fast and quietly in Maine. Freshman state Rep. Alexander Willette said people kept bringing it up when he went door-to-door campaigning last year in his district, which is north of the speedier highway. Willette, a Republican, says he dealt with other legislative priorities but submitted the bill late in the session “in an effort not to break a promise” to his constituents.

It turned out that the state Transportation Department already had done studies showing the change was justified, and the bill whisked through the State House.

Transportation Department spokesman Mark Latti said the department bases its limits on the speed at which 85 percent of motorists travel, and highway surveys showed that percentage were going 74-75 mph along the northern I-95 stretch.

Traffic studies show that people travel the speed they feel most comfortable going, no matter what the posted limit is, Willette noted.

That’s not how the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety views it.

“People do pay attention to speed limits,” said the institute’s Anne Fleming, who warned that the new limit will just induce people who’ve been going 75 mph to push the pedal to the metal. “Whatever they’re flying along at, whenever they raise the speed limit, they fly along faster.”

Fleming conceded that the higher limit may save motorists time, but she said studies show that higher speeds increase the likelihood of accidents. And when there are crashes, they are worse.

“This,” she said, “is the laws of physics at work.”

For the American Trucking Associations, the issue is also economic.

“The slower you go, the more (fuel) efficient you tend to be,” said ATA spokesman Sean McNally, who calls 62-65 mph “a kind of a sweet spot for economy.” The U.S. Department of Energy backs that up, saying gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph.

The trucking group is asking the federal government to impose a national 65 mph limit and supports efforts to put electronic speed governors in big rigs to keep them at 65 mph or under.

Wade McCrum, who owns 17 trucks that use I-95 to haul potatoes, said his drivers who now go the posted limit will be told to go 70 mph, but no faster, when the new law takes effect to maintain fuel efficiency.

“We’re increasingly trying to decrease our carbon footprint from the farm to the fryer,” said McCrum.

Asked whether time savings from the added speed will save money for his company, JPD Transport, he said, “I certainly hope so.”

___

Online:

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety page on speed limits: http://www.iihs.org/laws/speedlimits.aspx

Article source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/aptrne/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20110929/ap_tr_ge/us_travel_brief_maine_can_drive75

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